(Untitled)

[secondhandwebs]

WHO: May Parker and Matt Murdock
WHERE: Matt’s office
WHEN: Afternoon.
WARNINGS: Family dysfunction.
SUMMARY: May stops in on her not!Uncle Matt to figure out what to do now that her not!Dad is back in town.
FORMAT: Para to start.

Comments

[mansansfear]

"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you coming in?"

Honestly, Matt had been expecting this for days. Ever since he'd heard Peter's familiar voice on the Network, he knew May's eventual breakdown was imminent. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a breakdown, per se, but he was fully expecting to play confidante to his confused adoptive niece. While Matt preferred brooding and solitude, the Parker family seemed to benefit from talking their problems out. And if May needed a wall to bounce her thoughts off, the least Matt could do was be quiet and listen, or offer a word or two of support. She was family, after all.

"It's Sunday, May. Gemma has the day off. No one else is here." That was meant to soothe any second thoughts or nerves she might have over seeking him out. It was humbling, to admit one's fears or problems, Matt understood. But he wanted to reassure her that she was safe, and she could talk to him. "I've got Oreos in the kitchen. And milk. Why don't you bring them over here?"

[secondhandwebs]

"Y-yeah, sure."

May could hug Matt already, but she settled for offering an unseen, lopsided attempt at a smile as she complied with the request. Reilly tried, May knew. He did, the same way she tried to be there for him. But there was just something about having an adult at your back that was, at times, miles and miles more reassuring than what they managed in their own, weird attempts at maturity. Back home there'd been Uncle Phil to run to when dad was just too complicated to manage. Here there was Matt, for situations way more messed up than what she'd had to gripe about back home.

She trotted over with the suggested spoils, putting them between them before she opened her mouth again. How did she even start this one?

"So...Dad's here. Kinda."

[mansansfear]

"Yes, I know. I spoke with him." Matt helped himself to a cookie, pulling it apart deliberately, as if it were the most complex and complicated task in the world. "He came to see me the other day."

He didn't particularly want to share what he and Peter had discussed with May, he didn't feel it was necessary to hold his friendship with her father over her head, but he felt like she could use some perspective. Of course she had every right to be upset and confused by Peter's arrival, but it might help her to realize that her father had come running to the same person when he needed advice.

"He's from a different time than I am." He said, licking the filling out of the cookie, apparently indifferent to how ridiculous he must look.

[secondhandwebs]

May wanted to ask about they'd talked about. No, not even that. Really, she wanted to know if they'd talked about her. If dad had said anything. Even after meeting up with him the other night it was just...weird. It was weird. He was Peter Parker, Spider-Man, he had the complete genetic potential to be her dad...and he wasn't. Never would be. But on the other hand...

She let out an, even she could admit, overly dramatic and pained sigh as she reached for her own cookie and pulled it apart with a frown. She wasn't going to ask, half because she was grown up to know it wasn't her business, and half because she wasn't sure she'd want to hear it.

"He and mom aren't...he's not actually my dad."

She took a bite out of the half of the cookie that lacked the frosting, more just letting herself really let her own words sink in more than anything.

"I mean- I always figured we'd be on different time lines, you know? The porter wouldn't have much use for a retired spider-person...I was ready for that. But I always thought...I mean Harry

[mansansfear]

He didn't say anything for the longest time. He just continued to eat his cookie, sightless gaze fixed on some arbitrary spot on the wall behind her. There wasn't much he could say to comfort her, anything he tried to articulate would just come across as forced and canned. He wanted May to understand that he was empathetic to her plight, that he understood her pain, but the question had to be raised; did he really?

None of his lovers or family had showed up so completely changed that they didn't even know who he was. Those closest to him in this reality knew him, and even those who'd been from other points in time at least were the same person at their core. Matt wasn't sure if the Peter he knew and called his friend was the Peter who would one day have May as his daughter. But he wasn't sure that he wasn't that man either.

He slid the cookie package across the table for her, taking a long drink of the milk. "You don't know that they won't end up together, May."

[secondhandwebs]

"The times don't line up."

She hadn't pressed him on exactly when he was from, but he'd flat out stated the times were off. Normie was too old. They'd never play together as kids, because she wouldn't be there. She methodically twisted a second cookie apart with one hand, trying not to sink too deep into the mood she was teetering on.

"I mean it's...it's not like I'm not going to talk to him or anything. He's still...him. I just never really thought about the fact there were universes out there where there's mom and dad but I just don't exist it. Like, ever. But he's still just...fine."

[mansansfear]

"So maybe they won't have you. Maybe they'll have an alternate version of you." Matt frowned at the glass of milk, like he was trying to glare it into submission. He didn't want to raise her hopes up too much, but hearing her so down and depressed was the last thing he wanted. She was young, she had a whole lifetime of depressing crap to wade through. She didn't need to be faced with something so heavy.

[secondhandwebs]

"Maybe..."

Maybe it was a stupid thing to pout about, she should just be happy to have any version of dad that was willing to talk to her. It wasn't like most people crossed their fingers and hoped to find out they had a small brood of superhero children waiting for them a dimension over.

"Should I...how much do I even talk about with him? I mean, it's mean, right? Talking about growing up and everything when that just...didn't happen for him."

[mansansfear]

"That's something the two of you will have to figure out together."

He hated that answer, but it was the only one he could give her without feeling like a complete jerk. Because honestly, what right did he have to dictate what was and was not appropriate for Peter to discuss with his daughter? If May felt like sharing something and Peter felt like hearing about it, that was between the two of them. Matt didn't feel the need to impose some pointless guidelines on them.

"Let me put it this way; you and Reilly will grow up in a reality that I won't live to see. Even if it is my future, I'll be dead long before either of you become the people you are now." He paused, lacing his fingers. "I won't get the chance to know you any other way. And depressing as it is to think about, I'm grateful for the chance to know you here and now."

[secondhandwebs]

"I'm still sorry about that, you know. Mentioning the whole...thing."

She pulled her knees up under her chin, tucking her legs nearly impossibly close to her body as she munched on her cookies thoughtfully. It wasn't like she could change the fact her and other!dad were on the path of sharing things. Too late now, so, really, hearing Matt's reply was just to make her feel better about it all.

"Reilly...I don't even know what to do about him in all this."

[mansansfear]

"Don't worry about him, May. What happens with him and Peter and Ben is between them. You need to think about you. Think about homework and school, think about Christmas. Getting too mired down in all of this is going to overwhelm you and frustrate you."

He was still thinking about what Peter had said, calling him the mother-hen, or the big brother. Maybe he was the big brother, looking out for the others while his own problems spun out of control. That's the way things usually fared, anyway.

"You don't have to dive into this tomorrow. You have time. You'll get to know him and he'll get to know you. There's no hurry."

[secondhandwebs]

"Yeah, because Reilly deals with his own problems so well..."

The boy had a pretty established pattern of making his problems hers all on his own, so May figured it was just energy saving to pile them in with hers to start with. Not that she minded, exactly. How could she, when she was here doing essentially the same thing to Matt at the first opportunity? Not to mention...well, talking about Reilly and his issues were easier then getting back to her and dad.

"And he's part of the Christmas...I don't know, issue. He and da- Peter'll need to be in the same room for it."

[mansansfear]

Matt wasn't even thinking about Christmas yet. That was weeks away, it wasn't even registering. Though now that May had mentioned it, it quickly dawned on him just how important the day would be for the extended Parker family. He'd probably have to clear some time during that evening to comfort one or three of them.

"There's no reason it has to be an issue." He was frowning at his mug again. "There's absolutely no reason you all can't act reasonably around each other. It'll be hard for all of you, I don't see why everyone can't just promise to behave themselves for the sake of one day."

[secondhandwebs]

Between Peter, May, and Reilly, Matt would likely be booked until New Years, and that was assuming they didn't cause enough collateral emotional damage for him to need a week or to for himself on top of it. As it was, May just sighed.

"Depends how good you're at playing referee, I guess."

[mansansfear]

"I'll do what I can. You should know that by now." It wasn't that he didn't want to help the Parker clan out, he was glad to play the role of friend and confidante, but he had is own troubles too. His own life was a mess, and the more he thought about it, the less he seemed qualified to give anyone advice about anything. Still, May was just a kid, and even if her dad was here and alive and in the flesh, he still felt a bond to her. She was still family, and so was Reilly. And so was Peter, honestly. If they needed him, he owed it to them to be there. "If you want to do Christmas with me instead, or if you want me there with you, I'll be there, May."

[secondhandwebs]

May blinked, jerking her head up to look at him at the last comment. At what time was he not going to be doing Christmas with them? Sure, she hadn't exactly sent out the braille invite, but come on. It was implied, wasn't it?

"Of course it'll be the Spider-Devil Christmas disaster of '10...I mean, unless you've got other plans."